The power of public food procurement

Public food procurement is a key tool to enable the shift towards sustainable and healthy food consumption.^{1 2} By offering more plant-based options, which have a lower environmental impact³, catering services can drastically reduce their carbon footprint while simultaneously helping to balance the intake of fruits, vegetables, legumes, and whole grains. 

Thanks to the cost savings from the affordability of plant-based meals⁴, catering services can also increase the purchase of higher-quality foods, such as organic, seasonal, and local products^{5 6}, which in turn provides an important opportunity for local farmers. 

Offering plant-rich meals in catering allows consumers to make a positive impact one meal at a time, fostering greater social acceptance and promoting the long-term adoption of healthier, more sustainable eating habits. Plus, since plant-based foods⁷ are suitable for people of various religions, ethnicities, and cultures, their adoption can foster inclusion and help reduce health inequalities.^{8 9 10}

“Plants and plant-forward diets are key to our future, as a city, as a nation, and as a planet” 

New York City Health Commissioner Dr. Ashwin Vasan¹¹

Potential of sustainable food procurement

Paris climate goals are impossible to achieve without a shift to more sustainable, plant-rich food systems – even if decarbonisation goals are met in all other sectors.¹² Setting concrete targets to increase the share of plant-based foods is one of the most effective measures to reduce emissions from catering services, as highlighted in the 2023 SAPEA report on sustainable food consumption.¹³

This can go perfectly hand in hand with an increase in organic food, as the business case from Denmark proves. The Danish model switched public food procurement to 60 and even 90 per cent organic food with the same operating budgets. The price premium for organic food was covered by reducing waste, buying seasonal food and switching to more plant-rich meals, with less meat.¹⁴

Ultimately, greater consideration of sustainability in public food procurement is a benefit for public health too.¹⁵ In particular, plant-based diets are used by health professionals in the prevention, management and in some cases reversal of noncommunicable diseases such as cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, obesity and some cancers.^{16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25}

Global warming potential of lasagne meals²⁶

Examples of plant-rich public food procurement:

• In 2024, Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport, the Netherlands’ main international hub and the third-largest airport in Europe, announced plans to reduce emissions by expanding its plant-based food and beverage offerings. By 2030, 60% of Schiphol’s food and dairy offerings will be plant-based (measured by ingredient volume).²⁷ 
• Since 2022, New York City has made plant-based dishes the primary dinner option for inpatients at all public hospitals. Switching to plant-based as the default option has led to a 59% reduction in the initial cost per plate and a 36% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions.²⁸ 
• In 2022, the municipality of Salvador, Brazil, signed a cooperation agreement with Humane Society International, through the Conscious Eating Brazil (ACB) program, to serve healthy, sustainable school meals, packed with plant-based foods. The initiative impacts more than 10 million meals per year in municipal schools.²⁹ 
• In 2019, Helsinki University cafeterias removed beef from the menu and increased plant-based options. The removal of beef alone reduced the carbon footprint of the meals served by 11%.³⁰

Plant-based by default

Serving plant-based options by default in public canteens and cafeterias can bring significant climate benefits while maintaining freedom of choice. Research shows that the majority of people always choose the default option – whether it is animal- or plant-based.^{31 32}

Due to its lower environmental impact³³, by expanding plant-based offerings, catering services can significantly reduce their carbon footprint while also helping to balance the intake of fiber, fruits, and vegetables. Replacing a non-vegetarian menu item with a vegetarian option is estimated to reduce GHG emissions by approximately 30%.³⁴

Percentages of plant-based and meat meal selection among control (meat default) and intervention groups (plant-based default)³⁵

Plant milk by default

Your contribution to the Sustainable Development Goals

Plant-rich public food procurement can help achieve Sustainable Development Goals since all goals are directly or indirectly connected to sustainable and healthy food.³⁸